Top: a video which surfaced today, showing the scene and police activity immediately prior to the now-famous kiss a couple shared in the midst of Vancouver’s post–Stanley Cup rioting.
Bottom: footage of the equally infamous kettling of G20 protesters that took place at Queen and Spadina almost one year ago today.
The two feel eerily similar—in that the sudden surge of officers in riot gear seems startlingly harsh relative to surrounding events, and is aimed at least in part at people not acting with any discernible violence or aggression. For Torontonians marking the G20 anniversary this week, it’s a coincidence that couldn’t be more poignantly timed.